Perception of Russia across Eurasia: Memory, Identity and Conflicts

This project focuses on the discursive construction of images of Russia by various ethno-cultural groups in the Baltic states, France, Finland, Poland, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Moldova. The methodological approach focuses on culturally shared knowledge, practices, symbols and different forms of their representation using discourse analysis, content-analysis and qualitative sociology methods. This project is comparative, not only drawing parallels between groups and states, but also between the public/political discourse related to Russia and the perceptions of ordinary people based on their historical memory, identity shifts and personal experiences.